


cataclysm

by camcradi (buttrileskissed)



Series: angst-akes [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Identity Reveal, OOPS IT'S BECOMING LONGER, THIS ISN'T WHA T I WANT ED, but i wanted to publish this one part of the fic as a standalone, but it will be changed around quite a bit, ok so, this is going to be part of a bigger fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-23 22:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6131584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttrileskissed/pseuds/camcradi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>chat noir and ladybug get into a little argument about... adrien?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the dillema

**Author's Note:**

> HAHA THE TITLE HAHHA HAHA HA I'LL BE HERE ALL NIGHT FOLKS

“Look, Chat Noir, I don’t have an easy way to say this. I know you have feelings for me, and maybe I would’ve liked you the way you like me but you came into my life at about the exact same time as my crush and I… I don’t feel the same way.”

Chat let out a defeated chuckle. He always considered the possibility of his Lady finding someone else, but he didn’t think she’d reject him like this. His pain is clearly reflected across his face for a brief second, but is soon replaced by his signature grin. “So, if this mystery guy wasn’t in the picture, do you think I would’ve had a chance?” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Most definitely.” He smiles back up at her but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Why does it hurt so much to reject him? Yeah, he’s her partner and probably the closest to her besides Alya, and it hurt to see him so dejected, a strong opposite to his usually cocky self. It sent a pang to Marinette's stomach to see him like this, looking like a wounded animal. And he tried to make it seem like he was okay. She looks down. She had to avert her eyes from him. Was this going to make things awkward? It would certainly put a damper on the ol partnership. Were they going to be okay? Petty feelings couldn’t be the downfall of Paris’s famous heroes, right?

“Can I, at the very least, know the name of this mystery boy? I’d like to know who my rival is.”

“Ah, I guess there’s no harm in telling you his name. He’s everywhere so you’d probably know him.” She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Adrien… Adrien Agreste.”

Part of Chat wanted to shout, part of him wanted to reveal to her who he truly was. Part of him wanted to just ask her to be his, right there and then. But then the other part of him, the more prominent part of him, was angry. Swirling with agitation. His competition is himself. He’s trying to beat himself. And not even the better part of him, not the free, happier part of him. Not the part of him that gets to be a hero, the part of him who gets to help millions. His competition is a good little boy who does what he’s told all the time, the part of him that allows himself to get pushed around by his father. The boy on display. The broken little lonely boy with a broken relationship with his dad. The boy without a mom. The boy who feels incomplete, and whose then stuffed into a mold of who he should be.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” His voice is gruff with anger, and there's no hiding it. “What exactly do you like about him?”

She hesitates. He crosses his arms. She gives in. “He’s kind, he’s someone who can be friends with everyone. He’s the kind of guy that people just gravitate towards. He cares about helping people. When I’m around him I stumble over my words and I can’t talk to him. He can talk to everyone so easily though, including me.”

“Adrien Agreste may be kind, but he’s also weak.” Chat practically growls.

“Excuse me?”

“He’s a weak, cardboard cut-out of everything his dad wants him to be. He doesn’t make decisions for himself and his life is planned out to the second. He barely gets to do things he wants and the small bit of freedom he does have is public school which he can be taken out of at any moment. He isn’t allowed to slip up or make mistakes or do anything wrong because if he does he isn’t perfect anymore!”

“Chat Noir, I’m not sure what your problem is but you really need to lay off.” Ladybug started backing up. Chat clenched his fists.

“What? My problem? You only know that boy in a good light. You don’t get to see the parts of him he hates! My problem is that you only know him on a pedestal!”

“Do you know him personally?”

Chat Noir winced, his composure breaking ever so slightly. “I know him quite well. He’s an enemy of mine.”

“And why is that?”

“I hate everything about him.”

“Look, I’m not going to sit here and listen as you badmouth someone I care about. Get it together. You know why I would choose him over you any day?” Tears started brimming at her eyes.

Chat bit at his bottom lip. He’s never once seen Ladybug cry. She’s usually so strong. He really, really crossed a line. Not even a fine line, he crossed a bunch of police tape with “do not cross” printed everywhere. “Why is that?” His voice came out rough, rougher than he'd thought.

“He wouldn’t be standing on this rooftop telling me everything he hated about the person I like. He’d be supportive. At least in the slightest. He wouldn’t stand up here and tear down something I love. So I’m sorry if you don’t like him but that doesn’t mean you can tear him down and expect me to be okay with that.” Her voice began to crack as his heart began to break. Okay. Maybe he fucked up a bit. Or more than a bit.

“My Lady,” He reached over, placing a hand on her shoulder. She brushes him off with a shrug and a toss of her yoyo.

  
“I have to go. See ya, Chat.” Ladybug didn’t give so much as a wave as she zipped off, leaving Chat standing on the rooftop, staring blankly into the dark, starless night sky.


	2. the resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY AM I STARTING ON CHAPTER THREE OF THIS GODDAMN FIC IT WAS SUPPOSED TO REMAIN SMALL WHAT THE SHIT
> 
> in which the parent friends resolve everything by being the parent friends

  
The sky seemed to have a hazy grey over it, almost as if to reflect the superhero duo’s emotions. Marinette was stumbling more than usual and in a constant daze. Her thoughts were practically buzzing around her head. She could’ve let him down a little easier. He was probably just caught in the moment, but in her defense, he was sort of being an asshole. How would you feel if your partner talked about your crush in such a demeanor? Marinette threw her head back and sighed for the umpteenth time that morning, ever the dramatic, but with the right reasoning.

“Girl, what’s wrong? You’re acting like you just broke up with someone, and you don’t even have a boyfriend!” Alya poked at her friend, eliciting another sigh from her.

“S’nothing, someone just said some bad stuff about Adrien.” Marinette pouted, looking at her now furrow-browed best friend.

“Who? What did they say? Who needs to die? I can have a crew of friends on their ass in an hour, you just watch.” Alya started tapping away at her phone. Marinette held her hand up in an effort to stop her.

“Why bother? It doesn’t matter who said what, or what they said. I reacted in a way I shouldn’t have. I didn’t let them explain themselves, and just ran off without a second word. I already handled it. They’re probably beating themselves up about it now anyway. I’d rather not pour more salt into the wound.” Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Regardless of whether or not they’re beating themselves up about it doesn’t matter. You’re beating yourself up about what they made you say. They made you angry so you reacted.” Alya twirled on her chair so she was facing Mari. “You shouldn’t feel bad for reacting.”

Marinette giggled. “I could’ve worded my reaction nicer, then. I also shouldn’t have skipped out on them.”

“Is there something you two would wish to share with the class?” Their physics teacher piped up, snapping both friends out of their conversation. Neither of the friends had noticed that they weren’t exactly whispering and that their little exchange had certainly turned a few heads. Or everyone’s heads. All but one. Marinette’s eyes fell on Adrien, the only one whose back was still turned, head hidden in his arms. She nearly called out to him but the teacher’s predatory-like stare held her back.

“Sorry!” Marinette squeaked, covering her mouth with her hands. Her teacher grunted, continuing with her lesson. Marinette squinted at the blonde boy, wishing she could know exactly what was going on in his head. Maybe she could help. His body language essentially mocked her internal emotions. She gave him a sympathetic stare. Maybe he could feel it if she stared hard enough.

* * *

  
_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._

Adrien’s mind shouted at him all throughout class. His mind was relentless, throwing insults at him left and right. He upset her. He hurt her. She was on the brink of tears because of him. Because he said something he shouldn’t have about something she very obviously cared about. Him. The part of him that he hates but she loves. The him that has a constant perfect facade. But again, he tried to put himself in her shoes. How much did that hurt? Hearing him say all those rude things about her crush, and topping it all off by saying that he hates him? God, what an idiot! He ran his hands through his hair with a grunt.

“Seems as though those problems are really getting to you, huh, dude?” Nino inquired, referring to the untouched worksheet in front of him.

“Yeah, yeah that’s totally it.” For once in his life, Adrien was thankful for schoolwork. Thankful he didn’t have to explain himself, Adrien started on the worksheet. He usually praised himself at how great he was at physics but that didn’t exactly apply when he didn’t pay attention to the lesson.

“I know something else is bothering you, is there any way I can coax it out before class is over?” Nino queried, knowing the answer as soon as the question was out.

“Not a chance.” Adrien started putting the most basic formulas on his paper. “But you can help me with these problems that I have no idea how to do.”

Nino threw his hands up in defeat, but immediately after, started showing Adrien how to work out the problems on the page.

The bell was a mercy release for him. Adrien zoomed out of the classroom with a quick thank you to Nino. He was out the school doors minutes before his ride. That gave Nino just enough time to catch up with him.

“Ninoooo, please. Not now. I can’t tell you right now.” Adrien pleaded, praying that the boy would let it go. He couldn’t possibly explain to Nino that he badmouthed himself to his crush. But not himself? He badmouthed himself to his crush under an alter ego? It was all still really confusing but she was hurt and that’s what was bothering him the most.

“History. Explain in history.”

“Ninooooooo…” Adrien groaned on, but his best friend wouldn’t budge. His ride screeched up, and for the second time that day he was thankful for something he’d usually be groaning at.

“No buts. And no trying to get out of it either. You need to talk to someone.” Nino gave the blonde the best puppy dog eyes he could manage. He knew they were Adrien’s weakness. It took Adrien about 10 seconds before cracking.  
“Alright, alright. Fine!” Adrien shook his head in defeat. “I give in, I’ll talk to you in history.”

Nino held his head up in triumph. Adrien groaned. “Great, talk to you then.” Nino gave him a wave before walking back into the building. Adrien rolled his eyes, shuffling his way to his ride.

* * *

 

History eventually rolled around. Nino was in his seat minutes before Adrien, breaking his lateness streak for the first time since the third day of school. Simultaneously annoyed and impressed, Adrien reluctantly sat down next to his friend. Nino wasted no time, diving right in with a plethora of questions, starting with the most disconcerting, then rolling back to less pressing ones.

“Why are you so mopey? I haven’t seen you this upset since that time your dad wouldn’t let you have a birthday party.”

“Well that’s--”

“Why were you dodging my calls and texts last night? I know you read them.”

“I--”

“Did you sleep at all? You look really tired. I thought a zombie walked in this morning.”

“Uh--”

“Were you crying? Your eyes looked red. But then again, it is allergy season…”

“Alright, Nino. Enough. All of those things are pulled into one simple explanation.” Though it wasn’t exactly simple, he wanted to stop his friend’s investigation before it got any further. He could be insanely persistent and stubborn and those two things did not help when he wanted to know something. Nino would go to jurassic measures to find something out. Almost like a certain redhead… god, they were really perfect for each other.

“Go on, then. I'm listening.” Nino pushed.

“I uh, I said something really bad about my crush’s crush to my crush and she got really mad and said something about how the reason she’d choose him over me was because she said he’d never do that to her…” It sounded really asinine when he said it out loud but wow it was true. He also failed to mention how he was his crush’s crush and how that wasn’t exactly the full story but that’s the best he could manage without revealing something really important and possibly friendship and life ruining.

“So…” Nino started, sounding as confused as ever. “You said something bad about your crush’s crush, to your crush…” It took him a second to process but once he did, a look that screamed “Really?” took over his features. “Why… why would you do that?”

“Because she doesn’t know a thing about him!” Adrien raised his voice the slightest bit, earning a few shushes from the class. “She has him on a pedestal. She only knows the best of him. She doesn’t know that half the time he’s pretending to be someone he’s not!” He whisper-yelled. Nino raised a brow.

“And so… you were trying to get her to see that, but she got pissed off at you.”

“Yeah, pretty much! But hey, put yourself in her shoes, okay? Someone tells you that Alya isn’t who you think she is. That she’s hasty and rude or whatever,”

“Careful,” Nino warned. “You’re talking about my girlfriend here.”

“Exactly. If I were beat down something you loved, wouldn’t you be the slightest bit angry at me?”

“Well yeah,” Nino stated, shifting in his chair. “But I also see what you mean. You were trying to get her to see that there’s some part of him that she doesn’t understand. And I guess you want to protect her from that in a way?”

“Yeah, I guess. But that still means I have to apologize. I’m not sure she’ll even listen to me.” Adrien slumped in his chair, dejected.

“You’ve just gotta hope that she does. When you see her again, that’s the first thing you need to do. Don’t create any awkward tension and don’t let any awkward silences take over. Just talk to her and hope that she hears you out.” Nino smiled, giving Adrien’s back a friendly pat.

“Thanks Nino.” Adrien returned the smile. Just as he did, an akuma burst through their second story window. Glass shattered and fell everywhere as everyone fled the classroom.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. _Guess that apology is coming sooner rather than later,_ he thought as he and Marinette sprang into action.

* * *

Ladybug was, well, off to say the least, during the entire fight. She would barely look at Chat directly. Their miscommunications and complications were really getting in the way, and it took them twice as long as usual to defeat the akuma. They were both very worn out, and Ladybug didn’t even acknowledge him when he held out his fist. Somehow they'd found themselves alone, secluded the crowd, in an alley. An awkward silence fell between the two as they stood there, neither knowing what to say

They were both about to zip away when something stopped them.

“Ladybug, wait.”  
“Chat Noir, wait.”

“You first,” Ladybug gestured to him, actually looking him in the eyes for the first time that day.

“Look, I’m really, really sorry.” Chat started, stepping closer to her. “I didn’t mean to hurt you with what I said. It’s just… I sort of wanted to protect you in some kind of weird way, from y’know, this Adrien guy. I just know that he really doesn’t show his true colors all the time and it annoys me. I shouldn’t have said those things I did about him though and I’m truly sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you or to tear down something you really, really cared about.”

“It’s fine, chaton. I know deep down you really didn’t mean harm, but hearing you say those things really did sting. I’m sorry I skipped out on you like that. I didn’t let you explain why you said what you did. Maybe you’re right and that I don’t know everything about him, and that I only see the good but I really don’t like knowing that my partner hates my crush so much.” Her voice began to crack and he felt as if this was all too familiar. She was going to cry. Or skip out. Whichever came first.

“I don’t hate him. I just said that in the heat of the moment. I’m sure he’s a great guy and that he wants to share that secret side with you. I’m really, really sorry. Please don’t take what I said seriously.” He put his hands on her shoulders, hoping that she’d look up at him.

“But you’re my partner, my teammate. You’re always on my side, so I value your opinion. What you think matters to me. I’d hoped you’d be supportive.” Her voice started to leave in short breaths and her tears started to fall on her cheeks. Oh no. Oh nononono. Ladybug was crying in his arms and he didn’t know what to do.

“Would you still love the boy if you knew how weak he was?” Two beeps were warning him against this. “Would you love the boy if it was him behind this mask?” This was crossing into the territory of a few nights ago but he didn’t care. He needed to get this out.

“Chat, of course I would.” This felt awfully familiar, but something was different. The boy behind this mask... oh. _Oh._ It took her a second to realize exactly what he meant. One beep was warning her against this. She put a hand on his face, wiping away the tears that fell on his cheeks.

“Would you love him if he tore himself down in front of you? If he told you is biggest secret? Would you love him if you knew he was lying to you?” His breathing became shaky before he could even process that he was crying.

“He’d be the strongest person in my eyes, to be able to share that with me. If he tore himself down in front of me I’d do what I could to fix it.” They were both blubbering, crying messes at that point, letting their tears fall freely was the only option he had.

“Would you love him if he wasn’t perfect? If he had quirks and always made stupid puns?” He let out a hushed giggle with that one. Three beeps were warning him against this. He ignored the warning.

“I’d love him no matter what, I really, really would. I’ll love  _you_ no matter what, Adrien.” And with that, he pulled her into his arms fully into a long, sloppy kiss. Two kids that didn’t know what they were doing, but caught themselves trying anyway. Lips smashing, tears falling, noses sniffling, teeth clattering, it was that kind of kiss and it seemed perfect for this kind of sloppy situation. A bright light flashed behind their closed eyes and when she opened them, she found none other than her crush standing before her. She gave him a soft smile, holding him tightly in her arms.

“Of course I’d love the boy behind the mask.” She peppered kisses along his cheeks. Two beeps were warning her against this.

“My Lady…” Chat--Adrien pushed her off of him, looking into her eyes.

“Will you love me, even if I’m not what you’re expecting? Even if the girl behind this mask is just as weak as you think you are?”

“Ladybug…”

“If she stumbles over her words when she talks to you because she doesn’t know how to act, but she wishes that you’d notice how she feels anyway?” It took Adrien a second to put two and two together, but he finally did.

“Of course I would. No matter what, you’re still you. You’re strong and brave and smart and amazing and I will love you no matter what. I want to know you more, I want to know more about the girl behind the mask. I want to know more about you, Marinette.”

Three beeps were warning her against this. She swallowed, and emerald met sapphire. Both raw with emotion, both red-rimmed from crying. She gave a soft smile, pulling him in for a less sloppy, more calm, kiss. Their lips moved in tandem, slowly, a true opposite from the beating of their hearts. A bright, pink light flashed behind their eyes. When they finally broke apart, everything seemed to come together. Marinette and Adrien. Ladybug and Chat Noir. All four people in one place, all loving each other. They looked into each other’s eyes once more as if to confirm that this was all, in fact, real.

"You're Adrien. You're Adrien Agreste. Calm, kind, patient, smart, Adrien Agreste." Marinette giggled through her tears. "But you're also Chat Noir. Punny, free-spirited, protective, questionably funny, Chat Noir. And you're great. You're amazing. You're... miraculous. And I love both parts of you."

"And you're Marinette. Clumsy, creative, talented, kind, beautiful, Marinette." He cupped her face in his hands. "But you're also Ladybug. Strong, confident, smart, collected, Ladybug. And you're amazing, and I love you, both parts of you, so much. I love both parts of you because you're an extraordinary girl."

"I guess you could say that I'm your miraculous lady." Marinette winked, but then hid her face behind latticed fingers. He tore her hands away from her, taking in the view of his beautiful, blushing, unmasked, lady before him. A very Chat-like smile took over his features.

"You are, indeed, my miraculous lady." He pulled her in, molding their mouths together once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i... this wasn't... i didn't mean for this to be... ugh fuck it, it turned into a reveal fic and the reveal rotted your teeth out.

**Author's Note:**

> though this is part of a bigger fic i might diverge it from said fic because i have more than one idea for how this could go so...?


End file.
